For so many, nighttime can bring waves of anxiety, worry, and fear. If this experience sounds familiar to you, you may be wondering what you can do to truly change this situation and turn night into a time of peace, tranquility, and deep rest. Today, I want to share a few tips and tricks for how you can shift these intense emotions as the moon rises, and find ease and peace as you drift off into a night of restful sleep.   

1. When feelings of anxiety, panic, and worry begin to arise as the evening shifts to night, it is important to take a moment to first acknowledge this experience. We can say to our anxiety “I see you, I feel you, and I understand that you are trying to protect me. Thank you, but we are safe and secure now.” Simply acknowledging your difficult feelings with love and compassion for your experience can bring a powerful mindset shift. Our difficult feelings just want to be honored and felt most of the time, so this is a great place to start. If you are feeling the need to go deeper into honoring these feelings, take 5-10 minutes to freely journal all of your current fears, stresses, and anxieties, knowing that as you write them on the paper, you are freeing them from needing to take up space in your thoughts. 
2. After we’ve taken time to simply acknowledge and accept how we are feeling, it is time to start shifting our thought patterns. At night, our monkey mind may take over control, causing constant thoughts to stream through our minds, keeping us awake and overwhelmed. One of the best ways to begin to shift these thought patterns and disengage from the monkey mind is by introducing new positive thoughts, and we can do this by using Positive Affirmations. I recommend checking out the Affirmation Studio, where members have complete access to all of our guided affirmation practices (which can be found in the courses), otherwise, head to youtube and search for something like “affirmations for stress and anxiety” or “sleep affirmations for peace” choose a video that resonates with you and try to listen for at least half an hour before bed. I like to listen to these videos as I drift off to sleep. Affirmation videos like this guide our thoughts so that our mind isn’t focused on stressful things, but rather, our mind has a guided focus towards establishing peace, calm, and relaxation.
3. Lastly, one of the most profound ways we can heal nighttime stress, anxiety, and insomnia is by meditating. Meditating brings us back to the present moment, and often, when we are struggling with intense anxiety and stress, we are focused on the past or future. When we meditate, we take time to focus on our breath and body, which helps us to feel anchored and safe. We create a positive space for our emotions to be felt and we cultivate a sense of calm and willingness to let life move through us, knowing that we do not need to attach to each individual thought or story, especially those that frighten or worry us. Meditation is not about eliminating our thoughts to achieve a “quiet mind” , it is more about redirecting our thoughts to become aware of our flowing breath, our body, and the present moment we find ourselves in. Meditation is deeply therapeutic and overtime, trains our minds to find calm, clarity, and ease, particularly in times of stress and struggle. I recommend giving a few of our Course meditations a try, or, check out the thousands of free videos available to you on youtube. If you are new to meditation, start with just two minutes, gradually increasing as you develop your practice. Remember, that meditation is a practice, and it takes time to condition our brain to slow down and focus on the present. Be gentle with yourself and don’t give up. This practice is so worth it! 

I hope that these tips can help you find greater support and calm in your nights. As you build your own self care toolbox, feel free to implement any other practices that comfort, heal, and nourish you, into your nighttime routine! 

Have hope, be brave, and create the positive changes you’ve been craving.